A/N: In RHEA they call a country a tribe and each is about the size of Asia.
_______CHAPTER TWELVE_______
HATHOR
Nox volunteered to be a part of the group that was going to rescue his aunt Virgo Vermilion from the trenches of melancholia's playtime, Panacea also came along with the group the moment she was informed that it was her granddaughter who was going to be rescued. While everyone in the royal palace was busy preparing to go out into the cold, Virgo's fever was becoming worse by each minute that had passed, they have been walking for hours now with still no sign of any life visible, the pinkenette princess' eyesight was becoming a bit blurry, her headache did not cooperate and the infection on her upper limbs were spreading like wildfire "Virgo!" her entire being collapsed on the thick snow, the kinou she was with called out her name multiple times as her eyes were closed shut, lips purple and chapped, left with no choice the unnamed kinou carried her in his arms continuing to walk down the cold despite the liability heavily on him.
None of Lireo's citizens will come out and help them as they value their own lives more and that would also mean breaking their thousand-year-old tradition. "We see them!" the pilot reported to Nox who was standing right behind her "Aircraft is now preparing to descent please standby, in 3...2...1." the jet became visible to the naked eye as it descended out of the cloudy skies, the yet to be named kinou was filled with so much relief that someone has come to rescue them from the freezing suffering "We can't fully land on the ground because if we do, the snow will eat up the plane!" Nox had to yell as the engines blasted almost numbing their sense of hearing on how loud it was "I'll create a walkway for guys but you have to hurry while passing on it!" the jet hovered above the cold song as the white-haired kinou focused on maintaining the walkway as the soldiers picked up Virgo and the kinou she kidnapped.
The doors closed shut once they've safely got Virgo and the kinou aboard the jet "Put her here!" Panacea immediately tended to the infected wounds of her granddaughter clicking her tongue when she saw how much pus has build-up to the point that it clung to its wrappings "Why didn't you treat her wounds?" Panacea looked in the kinou's direction who was given a much warmer coat than the ones he was previously using, his eyes never left the unconscious pinkenette princess "It's not that I didn't, it's that we can't since my darling Virgo is being treated as a wanted fugitive all over Helium and Zoldanga--is she going to be alright?" Panacea was first taken aback by how he thoughtlessly declared that her granddaughter is his love and taking notice of the glowing sensory bracelet on his wrist realizing that Virgo has meddled with this kinou's feelings and kidnapped him.
"What is your name?" the old woman asked as she put on some disposable gloves and began cleaning Virgo's arms with warm water "Kalil, Kalil Auden." he excitedly replied thinking that maybe this is Panacea's way of approving him to be Virgo's lover but it's not, it's really not, hehe Sensory Sentiment truly is problematic--truly "Judging by your attire, you are from Helium right?" the yellow chunk off pus made one of the soldiers puke as he was watching the scene unfold "Yes, I am." once all the puss was removed Panacea gently dabbed it with a wipe that has been soaked in saline solution "Is the guava extract done?" the old woman inquired "Yes, Dower Vermilion!" they all took turns in providing Panacea assistance, wanting to see for themselves how RHEA's greatest physician worked.
Given that Panacea was the former Queen of Zoldanga, people always have paid great attention to whatever she was doing 24/7, and when she was declared to be the greatest physician after curing her former sister the expectations towards her rose up higher than it already is, most people started to address her by epithet and not by her real name. "How old are you?" Panacea continued on with her questions to Kalil distracting him as much as possible hence if Virgo dies from her high fever so does Kalil, they might not share the physical inflictions but if a sensory link is formed between the user and recipient while the other is in grave danger--both of them will die in synch.
"30 years old ma'am," Kalil responded with a smile on his face but the old physician was too engrossed in aiding her granddaughter to ask another so Nox took initiative for a while, taking a seat beside Kalil striking a conversation "Hi! names Nox, Nox Ascian, Virgo is my aunt." the white-haired kinou offered his gloved hand to Kalil who gladly shook it "Kalil Auden." he re-introduced himself to Nox "So what do you do for a living in Helium?" since Virgo basically kidnapped Kalil the white-haired 29-year-old began with some basic questions regarding Kalil's background "I used to be a part-time worker at a diamond fang mine, then I joined the military for a while cause all of my friends were doing it but I quit after a year cause the training was rigorous and draining my soul and also the fact that you have to pledge your own blood to the head of the King's Guard which is eerie, and my current job is being a waiter in a restaurant at Helium's capital, so what about you Nox, what do you do for a living?"
Milady's adoptive son did not expect the question to be returned to him hence the answer to the question is quite concerning "I kill people...?" he answered whilst panicking inside "Oh! that's interesting." cold sweat started to form as the expression on Kalil's face was straight as heck, awkwardness lingered for a minute hence Nox was still quite stunned on how lightly Kalil took his response "Do have any relatives living here at Lireo?" Nox brushed off the awkwardness and continued "No, not really but my darling Virgo's presence is enough for me~" the way he purred Virgo's name like it's holy gave the white-haired kinou chills run down his spine.
"How did you meet my aunt exactly?" he crossed-examined "Oh, it was love at first sight, she was beautifully escaping from the palace." yup he was totally kidnapped without his own knowledge and Kalil will have one heck of confusion once Virgo releases the sensory link between them "Ooooh..ho, how wonderful!" he pretended to be happy "So what about you Nox, do adore anyone in particular?" Kalil needs to stop returning the questions to Nox hence this questioning isn't really supposed to be about him but it keeps on going back to him "I'm not really fond of anyone as of the moment." he raised his hand in front of his chest nervous that Panacea might sense his affections for his deceased sister.
"What about back then? I'm sure you liked someone." the kidnapped kinou pressed on the pressure "Ye, yeah I did but that was a long time ago--I'm sure it's not relevant." Kalil did not back down however when he saw a pale tint of color decorating Nox's face as the thought of Riona's smiling expression washed upon his scape "So what's her name?" the white-haired kinou's eyes widen in fear as he never told anyone about the name of the amazon he liked because of their massive age difference and people would see him as a creep "Sorry I fo, forgot...cause uh? its been a really--really long ti, time ago." Kalil frowned at Nox moving away from his personal space leaning on the backrest "Wow, that's really a jackass move, forgetting the name of your past lover--!" the peach-haired kidnapped kinou was unable to finish his words as Nox intervened with him mid-sentence screaming in panic "WE WEREN'T LOVERS OKAY?" his panicked outburst made Panacea and the soldiers assisting her to turn their heads upon how sudden it was.
"Your Highness are you alright?" one of the soldiers asked Milady's adoptive son who was frantically sweating in nervousness "Yes...excuse me." Nox stood up from his seat beside Kalil to clear his head for a bit. It was never his intention to go head over heels for his stepsister, his exceptionally young sister at that, he tried to hold back in this wrong infatuation of his but the more he held back Nox couldn't just help but be smitten with her. What he didn't know is that both of his adoptive parents are well aware of his pedophilia and never confronted him about it as the future is one valuable time, but right now? that future cannot come true anymore. Whenever Nox was with Riona there were always guards following them and when there are none? he still cannot escape Milady's guarding eyes and that was me. (Hathor)
When Riona was born, at first he thought that maybe what he's been feeling is nothing but a simple familial love but as Nox got older the disgusting fondness dawned on him, he knew he needed help with such a dilemma but if he does ask for help--they would firstly judge him before they pay any attention to help him so he dismissed the idea and simply hoped to drown it all out but it never did...making it worse. He started to lose his head over Riona when one time he was asked by Jellal to pick her up from Ephedia (she was 6 years old at the time) the little bluette asked for a cone of ice cream when they passed by a shop as the white-haired kinou cannot use his talents to teleport them back to the palace as Riona would greatly feel sick to her stomach, so he opted to just walk all the way back with her.
Something in the way she licked the frozen dessert spurred him beyond eternal repose and it was not alright, looking down his hand that held Riona's made his pulse skip a beat whereas she was unaware of the things going through his mind as they walked together hand in hand. When Milady saw him during dinner that day she did not fail to make him uncomfortable in his seat, before they went to sleep Milady informed Jellal of Nox's thoughts regarding Riona and instantly the next day she canceled all of his one-year allowances, trained him till he dropped unconscious, walk out the cold with light clothing and eliminate a hundred convicts with a time limit of one hour and if he manages to fail in killing all those criminals she'd make him stand out in melancholia naked--which is a death sentence on its own.
And when Hibiki asked why Milady was treating her adoptive son like that, she spoke so lightly of it as mere training, the orangette never questioned it again, after all that Nox did everything in him to suppress his affections towards Riona. During that impending fateful day when he saw Riona's entire being mutilated, he froze like a deer in headlights, after the day of her burial Nox spent countless mortified nights crying himself to sleep heavily blaming his incapability to protect his little sister when she was being tortured by their enemies however it did not stop there, as Nox may have killed many people throughout the years but the dying image of Riona haunted him like a plague in his dreams and he'd often shot up awake covered in a cold sweat.
If you think that he was the only one experiencing this kind of pain then you are not considerate enough about the other members both Jellal and Ignatius heavily went through similar anguish as Nox, the least affected was Sting as the blonde is quite bitter still about Milady marrying Jellal. The redhead alcoholic's attempts to drown it all out lead to her disease going full circle, she already had enough depression running around her scape, and failing to protect and save Riona made her too desperate to die sooner than later. Melancholia's snowstorm started to form little by little as the sky turned to black "Please stay strapped in your seat as we may experience minimal turbulence." the amazon piloting announced through the speakers, Nox frustratingly took a seat far from Kalil propping his elbows on his knees in deep thought as the jet fly back to Eirlys.
While everyone else was busy dealing with Melancholia, Milady was busy dealing with her scape all this time that is what she's been up to--breaking the barriers chunk by chunk, by now? only three pieces are left to demolish and the caster of the spell can heavily feel it coming apart faster than the rain the idea of Milady coming back to her right sanity intimidated the caster. I, on the other hand, was finally able to reach into Milady but she was yet to be aware of it even if so much has happened while she was "resting" it would mean little of any value to her talents capabilities.
The turbulence they experienced wasn't minimal at all as it shook the entire jet like it was about to crash down the terrains of Lireo which is composed of high mountains covering most of the tribe, it took them about four more hours to get back and once they landed all of them were starving as the food the packed wasn't able to be eaten due to the supposedly said minimal turbulence. Virgo was taken to the medical infirmary so that Panacea could monitor her in case she tries something but that is highly unlikely, Kalil was given refuge in one of the palace guest rooms he even wanted to go and follow Virgo but Panacea stopped him in his tracks saying that if he truly wants her to get better then he should watch from afar in which case he was not agreeing to at first but upon analyzing his current position among their stature he opted to follow the old pinkenette's words and to make sure he doesn't stick like glue to Virgo as she's recovering Kalil was allowed to visit her during day time.
"Hey Nox!" the little ravenette greeted Nox who almost had a heart attack from Ethan's sudden appearance floating upside down courtesy of his talent "Yes, hello to you too Ethan." he started to walk into the dining hall's direction with Ethan floating right beside him "So how'd it go?" the ravenette asked rolling around in the air "By the time we found them, Virgo has already passed out from a high fever and the wounds on her arms are infected, the pus oozed out through the wrappings." Ethan stopped rolling around and flopped on his stomach disgusted by Nox's description of Virgo's wounds "Ewww, why didn't she treat them?" the amount of puss buildup they saw got removed earlier passed by his scape and the smell was truly distasteful.
"Kalil, the kinou she kidnapped told us that they weren't able to as Virgo was treated like a wanted fugitive all over Helium and Zoldanga, so they can't step into the city to get any medication for her wounds." the white-haired kinou narrated as he recollected Kalil's words "Shit really went down at Helium!" Ethan exclaimed as he was right shit really did go down at Helium the moment they left as Raios knew that once his favorite daughter becomes distant with him there's a slight chance that she might be against him if someone were to convince her too. But given that Riona died in the treasure hunting mission that Raios had given out to Milady then that slight chance is possibly a high chance by now.
Up to this point, none of RHEA'S citizens knows what kind of talent Raios Malkovich uses, well all except for Loki Nimue and Me. Milady did not ask regarding that question as she still holds a little respect for the kinou that raised her and I cannot blame Milady, hence the tyrant is her father after all without him she wouldn't even exist "Shit indeed." Nox chuckled, the guards opened the doors once the two reached it the fireplace was lit, as usual, the warm tablecloth draped down to the floor "I wanna bother that Kalil guy, can I Nox?" the little ravenette monster asked Milady's adoptive son who promptly smirked meaning the answer is yes "Yey!" he hugged Nox by the neck in joy while the latter just giggled at his childishness.
He agreed as this is his way of getting back at Kalil for making him almost lose his shit earlier at the jet when they picked them up from frostbite "Hey! don't fucking choke Nox! you stupid brat!" Ignatius mistook Ethan's way of saying thank you like an assault to her best friend, hitting Milady's student square in the head making him fall to the marbled floor with a loud thud "Are you alright Noxxie?" she asked worriedly checking his neck for any strangling marks that Ethan had left "I'm fine Tia, Ethan was just thanking me." he assured her scratching his nape meekly "What on RHEA is your fucking deal bitch?" Ethan recovered from the floor massaging the swollen part of his head "My deal? the audacity of his monster tch, don't freaking choke my best friend!" the redhead and ravenette began to argue, and yet again Nox is in the middle of it all.
"Hey, hey," he tried to break them up from each other but to no avail, at all as they glared at each other "Tia I'm fine really." Nox tried to reason one more time "Don't you hear him drunk bitch? Nox said he's fine." Ethan motioned to Nox who was just standing right there "Oh yeah? how can I factfully know you didn't manipulate him into saying that?" she grabbed him by the sweater raising him from the floor, oh by the way Ignatius stands at 188 cm whereas Ethan is only 149 cm (he's still young so don't worry) and more importantly the normal height of RHEA's citizens is 300 cm "What the? I can't even manipulate anyone to buy me a bottle of water! Think bitch, THINK!" he did some gestures with his upper limbs that did not fail to annoy Ignatius, but Ethan made a point hence his talents truly do not relate to manipulation of the human mindscape.
"Fine stupid brat!...you have a point," she mumbled the last part to herself "Huh? what did you whisper to yourself!? Oi!" Ethan pulled on her curly locks like a rope "Ow! Ow! let the fucking go!" Nox gave up on trying to stop them as none of them paid attention to his presence so instead, he just sat down at the table someone will be bound to make them stop he'd just wait for whoever that person might be. A few minutes into the loud arguing made by the redhead and ravenette, Jellal arrived with Hibiki promptly breaking the two apart telling them to pipe down or else he'll throw them out into the cold song immediately making them stop and sit their assess down the comfy chair.
The following days consisted of Ethan bothering Kalil out of his wits whenever he went out of his room to visit Virgo in the medical infirmary, Queen Minea had some of her subordinates look into Kalil's background making sure that Virgo didn't bring a convict here in the palace, and the only concerning part they found out about is the fact that he used to work at a Diamond Fang mine. So every visit he makes at the medical infirmary Panacea secretly slipped her talent to see whether or not the peach-haired kinou is has been corrupted with the said gem.
"So found anything yet?" the pale-haired monarch asked as she scribbled something down the paper, Panacea took a seat opposite of her holding two cups of steaming hot cocoa in hand "Didn't I tell you to have a work-life balance?" she reminded Queen Minea making her look up from the papers "Fine," she placed aside the pen she was using taking a sip from the cup of hot cocoa Panacea gave her "To answer your question, Kalil wasn't suffering from any side effects nor is he corrupted, he didn't exactly get much into contact with that many fangs as like he said before when he was talking to Nox, the peach-haired kinou only worked as a part-timer there then he moved on with another job that paid higher Cyhea." the old physician blew the steam off her cup taking a sip afterward.
"What day will Virgo finally recover?" Lireo's present monarch asked hence Panacea can predict the exact date when her patient will get better "Two days from now, and make sure to have Kalil be present in the medical infirmary." placing her cup on the oak table adjusting her coat "Why?" Queen Minea inquired "Therefore I'll have my granddaughter release the sensory link between them, and do not have any guards apprehend him nor hurt him if escapes out of the infirmary in a state of sudden panic, we need to assure him that we aren't bad people and explain the situation to him." she spoke in a matter of fact tone "Whatever you say." Queen Minea giggled thinking about how Kalil would be confused as heck.
A knock came in ringing from the door "Your Majesty, it's Irina may I come in?" she asked for permission to enter "Yes you may," she granted her access, when the door opened she brought in with her a couple of snacks, bowed down to the both of them and stood behind the pale-haired monarch "So what about Ultear?" Queen Minea continued with their conversation "Unfortunately she is my most annoying patient, due to her relationship with Hathor I am unable to predict the exact date of her betterment." the old pinkenette physician expressed her irritation regarding Milady's health "Come on Panacea, she lost the only daughter she had...I'm sure you know how that feels like." Panacea's expression became down-casted as the dying recollection of her eldest and youngest children walked by her memory.
"Yeah, I do and it still hurts up to this day, not a day goes by that I do not miss them." Queen Minea reached out for the old physician's hand giving it a light squeeze and when she looked up the pale-haired monarch she smiled warmly at her, Irina felt the warm liquid in her eyes as she watched the two royal blood express their feelings regarding the past misery they've strived to endure, handmaidens in RHEA are about the same age as their masters they start their training at the age of seven and serve at the age of 10-years-old their wages do not disappoint with a minimum of 10,000 Cyhea and a maximum of 20,000 Cyhea with that much money on your bank account you can already buy a one thousand square meter land.
Irina was there to witness how Queen Minea struggled when her parents died, then a few years later they were followed by her eldest sister, leaving the then princess alone all by herself to manage an entire tribe without any guidance but her own knowledge, people always exaggerate how she progresses without any hitch but that was so far from the truth, she became Queen overnight so everything had to be rushed beyond repose in addition to that she also had to raise her only child teaching with the right sense of morals and preventing people to stuff ideas into his mind as Jellal's father was quite the troublesome kinou and if she doesn't handle her son's education he might get swayed out of what is morally good, "We'll save Evergreen, I promise you that." Queen Minea assured Panacea "I know you will." she smiled back at her.
It's just like what Panacea predicted, after two days Virgo was finally all better her wounds had all dried up but the end result would leave scars once they've all peeled off by themselves, Kalil was staring lovingly at Virgo while some members of the Arhianna team 2.0 watched them closely especially Ethan his eyes never left the two "Virgo, if you may." Panacea asked her calmly as she deflated her hand to the side releasing the sensory link between her and Kalil little by little "Remember to not tackle him." Sting whispered to Ignatius who promptly nodded while she was watching the scene unfold in front of them, once the bracelet was taken down Kalil was straight-faced staring at Virgo who had a slightly tired look on her face "What the--!" he jumped out from the bed utterly confused on why he was staring at Zoldanga's princess, looking around him seeing four members of the Arhianna team 2.0 watching him closely as if he was their next prey to kill, RHEA's greatest physician and a handmaiden wearing Lireo's garb.
Kalil immediately grabbed the nearest chair using it as a shield in case they try to jump on him "Stay back." he worded out slowly, but surely walking to the door which was wide open to run out of Sting had his arms crossed on his chest when Kalil's eyes looked at him, Ignatius was smiling, and Nox had a neutral face on "He's funny." Ethan giggled as he was floating mid-air making Kalil's entire body shivered in fear upon hearing the little ravenette call him a funny kinou "BOOO!" Ethan playfully scared him making the peach-haired kinou run out of the "Seriously Ethan!?" the redhead amazon scolded him but he just laughed at Kalil's reaction, Sting face palmed himself as he just told them earlier to not frighten Kalil and that's exactly what Ethan did--he scared the confused kinou.
"Catch up to him, I'm sure he has a lot of questions." Panacea dismissed the four by a wave of her hands and Sting just shrugged at the order walking out of the medical infirmary with the three following closely behind him, turning her attention back to her granddaughter "How are you feeling?" she asked handing Virgo a glass of water as releasing the link drained her a bit "Relieved, the link had me feeling tired the whole entire time it was on." Virgo took the cup with shaky hands "Of course you do, and refrain from doing anything heavy--and by heavy do not train okay? you are too hard on yourself Virgo." the old pinkenette sat down beside her granddaughter who was gripping the glass angrily staring at it "I want to be stronger." she gritted her teeth "You can be, but don't overexert yourself to the point that it'd put your own life on the line." she advised whilst giving Virgo a side hug making her tear up completely "Shhh, it's okay, it's okay..." Panacea fully embraced Virgo as she sobbed up all her bottled-up emotions.
"Nobody must apprehend him understand?--Ethan, I'm talking about you." the blonde kinou reminded yet again hoping that this time the little ravenette monster follows through with the plan "Okay Stiiinnggg~" he coyly grinned at the blonde as he floated whilst the three walked, Sting simply grumbled something underneath his breath as he massaged his palms together preparing the works of his talent in case they might be needed but that is highly unlikely "Since I met him first before any of you did, I think I'll be able to reason with him." Nox explained the strategy he had in mind to everyone "Yeah sure go for it." the redhead amazon agreed with him whilst she was braiding her long curly hair.
"Ooooohhh! what if we play with him?" Ethan poked fun at their well-organized plan "ETHAN!" all three of them yelled at him in unison making the ravenette crack up clutching his stomach from too much happiness "Where is this? where the heck am I?" Kalil's loud panicking voice caught their attention as a crowd of servants tried to make him calm down to explain that he's in Lireo but that's all they couldn't answer how he got here "Relax Kalil, you're in Lireo." Sting raised his voice a bit, saying the peach-haired kinou's name to bait him into paying attention to the four of them "How'd you know my name?" he asked suspiciously whereas Sting gestured at Nox to take action with the plan he laid out moments ago "Kalil, it's me Nox do you remember me?" the white-haired kinou slowly approached Kalil like he was a nervous stricken type of prey.
"No. Who the fuck are you?" he answered bluntly "My name is Nox, I was one of the people who rescued you and Virgo back at Kari, by any chance do you remember now?" he was now standing two meters away from Kalil, who thought hard about what Nox said hence did have vague memories of an amazon with short pink hair approaching him wearing scrubs, a lab gown and a pair of combat boots and he was always staring at her whenever he was at the medical infirmary for some reason "Virgo? the princess of Zoldanga? the amazon from earlier? her? Why was I with her?" Kalil bombarded them with questions "Yes her, she was responsible for taking you all the way here at Lireo." Nox explained to him calmly "This is really Lireo? like for real?" more questions popped up "Yes, you are literally in Lireo and I know it is hard to believe but it's the truth, I'm not lying to you." Kalil darted his eyes all over the palace, seeing that none of it is similar to Helium in any way shape, or form then back to Nox "So this is Lireo... " he took a minute max admiring the architecture.
"Now...if it's not against your free will, I would like to ask you to come with us so Virgo could explain everything to you clearly--!" Nox was now only mere steps away from Kalil but before he could finish his words the peach-haired kinou apprehended Nox holding him by the neck astounding the crowd of servants and the three watching them "Everyone stay back or I'll choke him!" Kalil warned slowly back walking to the palace doors, Ignatius was about to attack Kalil for grabbing her best friend by the neck but Sting stopped her from doing so hence it could add more fuel to the fire "Kalil please believe Nox, he's telling you nothing but the truth." the peach-haired kinou's eyes scrutinized at Sting "Believe him? you guys are known to be the biggest liars!" an infamous reputation does wonders in cases like this.
Ethan was getting bored with their boring ways of trying to deal with Kalil so he went with his tendencies instead--annoying people till they lose their wits "No Ethan wait!" Sting tried to stop from but it was a little too late for that as the little ravenette levitated both Nox and Kalil mid-air making him lose grip of Nox, who was placed back down on proper gravity "OOoooOOOOoooOoOOOOhhh! see he's flying, look! look!" the ravenette boasted making the servants anxious hence he's literally altering Kalil's gravity like a doll "Look at you! flying like a bird with no wingsss HAHAHAHAHA!" yes, Milady really is his teacher I mean look at that energy "Let me go! help! someone help me! HELP!" Kalil screamed for assistance out of his misery "Shake, shake! AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god, he's so funny." Nox just heaved a sigh at how ridiculous it was, Ignatius cannot believe what she's seeing right now whereas Sting viewed it as pure crackhead energy.
Somehow what Ethan did manage to jolt up Kalil's memories regarding how he arrived here at Lireo with that method of his I don't what to call it honestly the ravenette kid is just naturally jolly, no he's hyper like a Sikota, by the way, it's what they call Jaromirs that live in Xeris, anyway going back, the little ravenette is like a hungry Sikota that won't stop chasing you once it sees you like don't run at that point just accept that your gonna be saying hi to your ancestors real quick. Virgo explained every clear detail to Kalil and by the time they were done he was finally calmed down and was glad that he was finally out of Helium for the first time in his life as RHEA's balancing tribe wasn't the best place to live in this current era.
Virgo also told Panacea all about the experiments Faust has doing under the orders of Raios, in which case the old physician brought to Queen Minea as people were dying by the ridiculous attempts Raios is trying to produce. "So what do you think Your Majesty?" Sky asked their reigning monarch as she seemed quite anxious by hearing such things, I mean she knew how vile their Emperor was, but to step this low just to acquire an inborn talent? it's diabolical beyond repose, "Virgo." she called forth the name of Milady's younger sister who was hitting alongside them in the meeting hall "Yes, Your Majesty?" she paid respect to the pale-haired queen hence she owed her after all for sending that jet to rescue them "How much of a chance do you think you can stand against Raios?" she asked seriously making direct eye contact with the pinkenette princess "Pardon?" Virgo was confused with Queen Minea's words "Do you think you can stand against your father?"
The pale-haired monarch repeated the question for Virgo who remained silently seated unable to answer "Only you and Ultear have the authority to stand against him." the pinkenette princess gripped her skirt upon hearing those words come out of Queen Minea lips as she knows in herself that Raios would be able to kill her with just a simple tap of his fingers "I...I can." she bit the inside of her cheek answering with confidence "Why are you lying to yourself?" Virgo's eyes widen in shock as Queen Minea called her out on the lie she tried to manifest "I can okay! if I just train myself hard enough I will be able to!" she yelled, making Panacea pity her granddaughter "Virgo, even the wind knows the truth." Queen Minea's features softened upon realizing how sensitive the topic was to Virgo "Fuck your stupid wind!" she aggressively stood up from her seat closing the door with a loud thud.
Once Virgo's footsteps cannot be heard anymore Sky sighed placing back the fallen chair in its right place "I apologize for her sudden outburst, Raios' approval regarding her strength is a rocky topic." Panacea asked forgiveness from Lireo's monarch "It's alright Panacea, I understand." Queen Minea smiled despite being stressed from her work "Thank you, and I was wondering why did you ask Virgo if she can stand up against Raios? you not suggesting 'that' are you?" the old pinkenette physician asked curiously "No, I am not suggesting that...only time will be able to tell."
Weeks after Virgo's dried skin has completely off she did not refrain from training her physical prowess and talent. Kalil also managed to befriend her in over a week as they practically relied on each other during the escape out of Helium minus all the sensory link drama, Virgo also apologized to him about that part and the peach-haired kinou accepted it without a hitch as long as, she accepts him as her sparring partner seeing how much of mixed irritation and trouble she had with attacking a few mannequins and bots every single time she went out to practice.
"She's determined," Ethan commented while they watched Virgo train with Kalil above the terrace "You try having everyone look down on you, but you can't deny it that she lacks the potential to be capable," Hibiki added "Her talent is Sensory Sentiment right? correct me if I'm wrong." the redhead amazon asked as she had her arms propped up on the cemented railings making eye contact with Nox upon the question "Yeah you are correct" he answered, realizing that his aunt had the same talent as his deceased younger sister "Her footwork is terrible." Sting criticized while he made little birds made of light entertaining Milady's pet who was currently in a form of a Manx calico-colored cat.
(A/N: I cannot choose which photo to put in cause they're both cute, so you get two.)
"I cannot help but agree with you, Sting." the orangette chuckled as he turned away from watching Virgo training down the field to play with Milady's cat "Who's a cute kitty? you are, oh yes you are~" he baby talked the Meraki that purred lovingly in his touch "Yeah she is terrible, look at her stumble." the little ravenette made fun of Milady's sister "Come on Ethan, give her a break." Ignatius pitied the pinkenette princess of Zoldanga taking Hibiki's words into consideration moments ago "Nope! I'll diss her as much as I like, thank you very much." he proudly rocked his body back forth as he floated on the balcony "Where's the brush Sting! I must pet this cute kitty!" Hibiki frantically searched underneath the glass table for the said brush.
The servant who came in holding a tray of snacks stared at Hibiki who was kneeling underneath the table reaching out for the soft brush "Got it!--OW!" he proudly yelled hitting his head in the process "I call dibs on the chocolate banana muffin!" Ethan declared before Ignatius could even grab a muffin from the plate, she gave him a glare grabbing one "Don't be greedy water boy there's enough of it." she took a bite from the muffin "Oh my god she's purring." Hibiki cradled Salt in his arms brushing her head as Sting grabbed himself a cinnamon fruit biscuit "Give the baker a raise for this, it is delicious." Nox told the servant that brought them their snacks, she promptly nodded following orders, and bowed down before leaving.
Hibiki himself grabbed one of the pastry and he too was overwhelmed by the sweets punch "Nox you're right! uugghh it's freaking delicious~" the orangette savored the taste in his mouth "Meow!" Salt reached out for the snack Hibiki was eating wanting a bite too, he gave her a small piece first in case she doesn't like it, but low and behold she did just like the rest of them "Speaking of delicious, where's Jellal anyway?" the redhead almost choked on the muffin she's eating from hearing Ethan refer to Jellal as delicious, Nox offered her a glass of lemon water "He's busy with paperwork as usual." Hibiki relaxed his back thinking how tiring it is to sign and read all those papers all day "Doesn't he have an assistant?" the ravenette wondered "He doesn't, cause I help him from time to time." the blue-haired kinou should definitely get an assistant at this point.
Therefore he needs to relax, sitting all day in his study might burn him out one of these days "I'm surprised the work gets done." Sting teased the orangette "Hey! don't diss me I'm right here." Hibiki protested making everyone laugh, "Meow~" Salt rubbed her head on Hibiki's hand asking for another pastry in which he gave her one "If you don't mind me asking," Ignatius began as she watched Milady's pet consume the pastry "How did Milady get Salt in the first place? she really doesn't strike me as someone who'd adopt a pet." the redhead wanted to know, her question making Sting and Hibiki look at each other deciding whether or not they should tell them "Is it alright to tell them?" the orangette asked for permission despite having the authority to do so "Yeah sure, it's not like its gonna be an issue go ahead." he assured.
"Back when we were still studying at Ephedia, Sting's niece and our teammate, Arcana, urged us to buy Milady a one-year celebratory gift for joining the team. We scoured all over the six tribes just to find her something that she would like, I bought Milady two dozens of doughnuts from Calix, Jellal got her a comb from Xeris, Larcade got her a couple of long-sleeved tops from Aulora, Sting bought her a gold armband from Zoldanga and Arcana bought her a pair of diamond earrings here in Lireo." Hibiki narrated to the three youngsters pausing for breath "Where's the part about Salt?" Ethan asked impatiently "I'm getting to that part okay?" Hibiki defended "Okay!" the little ravenette monster shutted up and Hibiki continued on with the storytelling "As I was saying, after we all bought her our individual gifts, Arcana suggested that we should get Milady another gift that we bought together and not individually. We brainstormed ideas on what could we possibly get her but couldn't exactly come up with anything more than we've already gotten her until Arcana literally pulled up her shirt and--" Ethan interrupted Hibiki's storytelling by screaming out in a high pitched tone.
His scream had everyone startled "She showed you guys her boobs!?" the little ravenette monster asked terrified "What? No! and stop interrupting me." Hibiki replied to the false assumption Ethan had regarding the past "Oh, okay just making sure, continued on hihihi." He urged Hibiki to continue who promptly rolled his eyes before proceeding "Arcana pulled up her shirt and showed us the tattoo she got a year ago that time between her breasts, it was a calico catfish and they can only be found in Aulora, so we searched up every pet store in my home tribe just for a catfish but unfortunately for our luck, there aren't any left. So we stumbled up in a park to rest after that tiring search and while we're at it, a catfish was staring deeply at Jellal and he spoke nonchalantly 'Oh what do you know it's the thing we're looking for.' like that." the orangette impersonated his poker-faced best friend, making them all laugh especially Sting on how accurate he portrayed Jellal, who felt an irritating feeling in his study as he was signing the papers.
(A/N: So I know what your thinking, it's not that type of catfish okay? It's literally a half-cat, half-fish and it is adorable! I'm gonna insert a photo here. Btw I drew this when I celebrated 1800k reads.)
When the bluette was in his teenage years "We all crowded behind him seeing that it was indeed a catfish with its pupils dilating, Arcana however was unable to control her joy and squealed in joy startling the catfish, she had us catch it vastly and once we did Jellal pointed out that it wasn't an ordinary catfish but a Meraki instead, swearing that he saw how the catfish turned its tail into a real cat's feet of course at the time we didn't believe him, especially Arcana who hit him in the head for saying such things, since it was common knowledge that Meraki's are good at blending in, hiding and have become quite malicious when Medea Kyle passed away. The following day we surprised Milady in her dorm room giving her the gifts we bought and when it was finally time for the last one Arcana couldn't wait for Milady to open the huge boxed gift we got her, upon opening it a hyper catfish popped up its head from the box astounding Milady leaving her but a lost for words and of course she during that time Milady was hesitant to take in Salt, but it all worked out to what you see today."
Hibiki finished the story of how Milady got Salt, answering Ignatius's question "Wait I have a question." the little ravenette added, "Yeah what is it?" Sting responded to the teen's post question after Hibiki's narration "The Arcana and Larcade, Hibiki spoke about are they the twin heirs of Xeris?" everyone's attention was now on Sting to confirm if what Ethan had said was true or not "Yeah they are." his voice cracked a bit upon reminiscing the memory of his deceased niece and nephew, smiling to cover it up "Is it true that Larcade has hundreds of girls flocking over him? and how Arcana doesn't have a boyfriend because of him?" is it true? is it?" Ethan bombarded the two adult kinou with questions, now if you remember how Milady talked about recruiting Ethan because he's a fan of her well it is not just Milady he's a fan of, but the whole original Arhianna team, he wasn't even born yet when they were studying at Ephedia.
"I wouldn't say a hundred, it is more of a thousand actually and that doesn't even bother him hence he likes the attention." Hibiki chuckled as he remembered the memory of their deceased teammate flexing his stunning looks "Remember that one girl he brought one time?" Sting recollected the hilarious time where they all cornered one of Larcade's girlfriends of the week "Poor girl." the orange-haired right-hand kinou laughed along with Sting as the three youngsters watched them completely clueless "Can you fill us in?" Ethan spoke up for the three of them "Given that Larcade was drop-dead-gorgeous he was added to the list of the Fine looking people, and not only that he liked anything that walked in two legs with boobs and a honeypot--he's a playboy a well known one, with that being said he brought his girlfriend of the week one time and when he was called by Hibiki's father for a moment we interrogated her beyond repose to the point that she couldn't utter a single word and felt extremely uncomfortable."
Sting narrated to them so that they too could know what he and Hibiki are laughing about "What the that's terrible but hilarious at the same time, so what'd you asked her?" Nox chimed in "Oh you know, the classic questions, like why did she like Larcade? does she truly love him? does she plans to marry him? how old is she? which elite family is she from? will she be alright with Arcana's odd relationship with her twin brother? will they break up or not? what type of food does she like? can she handle Larcade? does she have a skincare routine? how many bikinis does she own? can she fight in stiletto shoes? what is her diet? how many kids does she want? what type of shampoo does she use? how much does her perfume cost? can she demonstrate her talent to us? what are her hobbies? what is her favorite color? does she like seafood? how many clothes does she own? does she like make-up? does she drink alcohol? which tribe is she from? what type of style does she like? how many times does she work out in a day? can she deal with us? does she still wanna be with Larcade? stuff like that."
Hibiki picked up a pastry after telling them, whereas the redhead amazon barely had enough of any wit to understand any of those questions by simply hearing them her mouth left agape taking all that in, Ethan was laughing his ass out and Nox just pitied the poor girl (in a way) from Hibiki's narration, so imagine how much of a pressure Larcade's ex-girlfriend had gone through with the original Arhianna team, "That's kinda harsh, you guys sure are great friends to have." the white-haired kinou commented sarcastically whilst taking a bite from the cookie "She almost wanted to break up with my hot nephew when he got back, but given that he looks good she didn't until the end of the week, where she couldn't handle all of our invasive personal questionings anymore." Sting scooped up Milady's pet as she jumped into his arms wanting the little birds he made earlier for her.
"Tell us about Arcana, if Larcade is her twin I'm sure she must have looked pretty!" Ethan was acting like an obsessed fan but in a good way, and hearing the little ravenette call Arcana pretty had Hibiki pause in his actions a tint of color decorating his face as a memory of her jogged by his scape, Sting noticed this and decided to tease him about it "Oooh, I'm sure Hibiki would love to tell you all about her~" the orangette laughed nervously his movements quite stiff, Ignatius and Nox were confused on why suddenly turned out this way but Ethan knew the reason hence he is their fan after all a wide-toothed grin etched upon his lips "You loved her! OH MY GOD!" Milady's student squealed in excitement hyper to hear the story, whereas Hibiki's words were used against him if you remember that time when they went on the treasure hunting shit where he teased Milady regarding her affections to his best friend.
"Oooh did love her indeed, did you know that Hibiki asked Arcana to be his queen in front of the entire team?" Sting allowed the Hibiki's embarrassing moment to be known "For real? damn, I never knew that Hibiki was whipped with Arcana Diaz." the orangette kinou was flustered "From what I heard she loved to twerk, wait, WAIT!! HIBIKI DID YOU STARE AT BUTT WHEN SHE TWERKED?" the little ravenette yelled shamelessly "Whoa! did you really Hibiki? hey Sting can you confirm that?" Ignatius asked the amused blonde "Yeah he did, but to be fair we were playing candy pop at the time but he definitely stared at her peach." Hibiki wanted to yeet himself off the balcony just to escape the embarrassment he's undergoing right now "Now we absolutely need to hear this." Nox poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Hibiki! Hibiki! Hibiki! Hibiki! HIBIKI!" they all chanted in unison even Salt was looking forward to it, "You said you just wanted to know about how we got Salt?" Hibiki attempted to sidetrack the topic elsewhere "Just tell us already." even Ignatius was now smirking leaving the orangette with no choice "Alright fine!" he finally agreed giving up making all of them cheer "YASS!" the little ravenette pumped his fist up in the air ready to listen.
"I'm not gonna deny it okay? a huge part of the reason I liked her is because of her looks, the other half is her upbeat personality and her odd dynamic with Larcade. When I realized that I started to have feelings for her I talked to my mom about it and she was even happier than I am, she then told my father who told Seigrain the member of Diamond Authority who also happened to be doing the role of legal guardian to Arcana, and Larcade. At first, he flat out said that he doesn't like the idea of me having a crush on Arcana which is a normal reaction to have, second, Seigrain wanted to see how dedicated am I to liking her to the point that I wanted an understanding with her saying that such things are quite too early for me and her, my mother intervened with that question saying to give it a few years in which Seigrain agreed to. We've kept the meeting out of Arcana's knowledge hence she would not hesitate to tell her twin brother who would literally oppose."
Hibiki paused for breath before continuing on "So years later, into our third year we held a meeting for that matter, and when Larcade was informed that the purpose of that meeting was me wanting an understanding with Arcana? he was obviously not happy about it one bit he stormed out the room the moment he heard it going back to class with everyone. I followed him not long after to try and ease his nerves and let's just say that he wanted to kill me for even thinking about marrying his twin sister, the reason why Arcana never had any boyfriends is due to Seigrain intimidating all those that dare to court her, Sting who watched her like a hawk, and Larcade overprotecting her by pulling out their weird relationship card they have going on making any kinou's that sent her flowers disturbed beyond repose, of course, Arcana was unaware of the wall they've built to protect her purity, therefore, she's a hopeless romantic type of amazon and if anyone were to say they are interested with her romantically she'd fall for the person in a heartbeat."
He gestured to Sting for a little spice "None of them knew about that until I told them." the blonde admitted and Hibiki continued on who was now comfortable with sharing "Arcana was so happy when she told Larcade that night and she did not fail to notice how dejected he was listening to it, as he feared that she might get her broken like all the girls he played around with. But she told him that I wasn't the type to do such things. Long story short everything worked out in the end, and what Sting told you earlier was pure facts as I mustered up all my courage to ask her to be my queen without Larcade killing me on the spot." the orangette man child finished feeling better "Wooww I never knew you were in matrimony with someone all this time, your good at hiding things from us, so how is she doing right now, do you two have any kids?"
Ignatius asked unaware that it would make Hibiki feel sad, Ethan froze upon hearing her question, "Yeah, I wish that did happen." the orangette smiled to himself looking down on the marbled floor his response leaving Ignatius confused "What do you mean?" Sting had to be the one to break the ice "Sad to say but Arcana and Larcade...have passed away during the seize of Xeris." the blonde bitterly spouted "Oh! I'm so sorry Hibiki, Sting I didn't know sorry." the redhead asked for forgiveness for her mistake. "It's okay Ignatius, everybody makes mistakes," he reassured the redheaded amazon. Raios had manipulated Milady into killing the twins with her own hands and it horrified everyone that bore witness to it, enduring it multiple times till Raios had enough of a good laugh out of it.
A sword came in flying from below "AAAHHH!" the sharp weapon almost took out Ethan's neck it's a good thing he dodges it in time, crashing on Ignatius for a safe landing whose face was wiped on the floor due to how sudden it was "Sorry about that!" Kalil's voice echoed from below making the little ravenette vastly got up on his feet cursing his anger at the reckless peached-haired kinou "FUCK YOU I ALMOST DIED!" he yelled Nox had to physically hold him back from taking any form of revenge "Oh no you don't! Ethan chill it was an accident." Milady's adoptive son reasoned with him the awkward silence now long forgotten as Ethan was so riled up in wanting to strangle Kalil for the so-called accident. "Accident Zeus' pole! I'm gonna kill him for almost killing me! let me go Nox!" the little ravenette demanded.
"Don't mind the kid, Nox won't allow him to go down here," Virgo told Kalil who was still looking up the balcony where the angry water-obsessed ravenette protested to be let go and Ignatius joined in stopping him by whacking him at the head "Still I feel bad." Kalil turned his attention back to his pinkenette sparring partner "Don't be, you didn't forget how he treated you right?" Virgo pointed out the little memory-shaking shenanigan Ethan pulled on him "I didn't, but still." he gave the angry teen raven one last look before "Look, even if the sword did scrape his neck a bit my grandmother will be able to treat him." Virgo reasoned in a matter-of-fact tone, Kalil was thrown off his feet by Virgo "Hey! I wasn't ready, a heads up please!" the pinkenette princess just chuckled "In a real fight there isn't a heads up, your head will just be taken off." she did have a point.
"Wow, you sure hate the apprentice of your sister." the peached-haired kinou countered Virgo's staff that attempted to strike him in the arm, adding a bit of conversation in an effort of making her lose focus "I hate all those that associate themselves with my sister." the pinkenette shared grumpily swinging the stick across Kalil who instinctively bent his torso to dodge striking Virgo's feet causing her to fall down butt first on the freshly mown grass "That's cheating!" she shouted accepting the hand Kalil offered to her "You fell for it." he chuckled getting back on stance even if she could have jumped it, in a real fight she would have already died, once Virgo had recovered from her fall she harshly landed blow after blow leaving Kalil defending himself from her attacks.
"What the-! Oi chill! " the peached-haired kinou exclaimed a little bit worried that she got hurt easily when he beat her ass, hence Virgo never really lost to him from the past week "Virgo!" he was forced to take her down just to make her stop from attacking him, with the staff pointed at her neck, and his feet on her back "Get off me!" she hissed getting up from the grass wiping her face with her hand as a few got on her face from the impact creating a great distance from Kalil "You okay?" he checked, as Panacea warned him beforehand to not hurt Virgo's feelings nor beat her up in a sparring match as she would be greatly disappointed in her self--it is the effects of Raios always looking down on her abilities seeing that her own father doesn't believe in her, it caused her self confidence to plummet down the drain like it never existed.
~
"What do you think you're doing?" Panacea's voice and presence behind Kalil surprised him "By the gods!" he jumped from hiding behind the pillar watching Virgo train from afar, Panacea did not break off her piercing gaze at the peach-haired kinou "What are doing?" she repeated the question as Kalil calmed down his racing heart from the fright "Don't scare me like that, and what are you doing here Dowager Vermilion? aren't you supposed to be the infirmary?" he ignored the repeated question of the old pinkenette physician and asked her his own with a little sarcasm sprinkled in it "A doctor needs to watch over her stubborn patient in case she tries to hurt herself, both intentionally and unintentionally." she told him the purpose of her presence there "What the, is that really all necessary?" he straightened his posture back up "That is with the added bonus that I am her grandmother." she added "Fair enough." Kalil shrugged his shoulders.
They both turned their attention to Virgo when she grunted frustratedly that she wasn't able to hit the training bot "You haven't answered my question yet." Panacea insisted as she found it quite odd upon why on RHEA would Kalil hung around like a stalker when her youngest granddaughter was training "I've noticed whenever I walked by, that she might need a sparring partner but I cannot seem to find the right timing to approach her because she's always chucking rocks at the mannequins and training bots whenever she didn't hit their marks." Panacea raised a brow at him a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips "I can also sense that you are looking for familiarity no?" the peach-haired kinou was caught "Yeah, you are." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly and Panacea crossed her arms "But it's with good reason okay?" he placed his hands up in front of his chest defending himself of her wrong assumption "What is the reason then? elaborate."
"I want to be friends with her since she's really the only person I know who's from Helium, plus she's also the reason why I got out of my horrible home tribe, I feel obligated to thank her for that at least." Panacea did a double check on his being with her talent whereas Kalil had a feeling that the old pinkenette physician is still somewhat doubting him and once seeing that it was genuine she was relieved of any worry but still needed to let him know about something first before she lets him go and be all buddy-buddy with her sensitive granddaughter "Be careful with your words when speaking to her and most importantly...do not wipe her face down the grass." she began to walk off, and Kalil darted his gaze between RHEA's greatest physician and Virgo.
~
"No." she huffed, frustrated with herself uprooting the grass beneath her feet her usual response would be a "yes" but not this time she just felt fatigued saying that she's alright back when she was still at Helium and Zoldanga "Do you wanna talk about it?" she stopped, biting her lower lip as no one has ever said something like that to her all this time her feelings we're never validated as she would constantly build up this wall in front of her family members scared that they too might dislike her because she's the weakest link out of all them "Y-yeah." the pinkenette princess admitted in which case Kalil sat down behind her, their backs facing each other "Share only what you're comfortable with, I'll listen without judgment." he encouraged her "I hate it that my father only favors my eldest sister..." she trailed off hugging her knees teary-eyed about the memory refreshment of Raios praising Milady but not Virgo.
"I want my father to adore me too as he adores Ultear, I want him to remember that he still has another child that craved his validation." she bit her lower lip hard forcing back the tears that began to gather "My mother did try to fill in the gaps and I'm thankful for that but whenever I see other kids that are being treasured by a kinou whom they call father I always feel a pang of surging pain in my chest."Virgo's voice cracked as she let it out "Whenever the people expressed their hate towards us? he made me listen to all of it as a punishment for being weak all the time. Wanna hear the sole reason why I choose to learn Sensory Sentiment?" she asked Kalil who promptly hummed as a response "...so I could change my father's hate and resentment towards me into nothing but love."
The pinkenette princess of Zoldanga buried her face and began to cry silently, Kalil felt sorry for her hence by the time she was done speaking he was but at a loss for words and guilty (in a way) as he did not know that all the hate they threw at the royal family were all being absorbed by her. They both stayed like that until Virgo had finally calmed down from her sadness "You have nothing to prove to your father because he's a fool for ever underestimating you in the first place." Virgo thought about what Kalil said, and maybe he was right...she doesn't need to herself to Raios because he's an asshole.
What is the reality of truth? can you truly define its verification in a plane of a phantasmagoria? does time exist in the plane of scape? with questions of doubt finding their way left and right to you, what will you do? One amazon...only one must remain to pertain our homeworld's balance, hence if the power is shared among others it will only result in multiple unwanted betrayals of saving your own skin. She who holds the orb shall possess our time to exist." Welcome back..." she who lives to serve greeted,
"Milady."
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